Quiet Hearted Mary
by cheerio777
Summary: This story is based on the Christmas story and a little bit afterwards. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's the events leading up to and after Jesus' birth. It's told from Mary's point of view.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Bible and I didn't write any of it... obviously.

* * *

"Mary!" yelled my mother throughout the house. "Oh Mary come quickly! Your father has just told me the most wonderful news." 

I smiled to myself and quietly laid down the clothes I was mending. I already knew what she was talking about and my heart leapt with anticipation. Joseph had made his intentions clear to me only two days ago. To put it in the simplest yet most complex language, we were in love.

I would always watch him working with his father and brothers, when we would go into town. He was a carpenter and would soon inherit his father's business. He could build anything from chairs to ladders or even doors.

There was no way my father could refuse his request. He was the most handsome, strong, intelligent, kind and godly man in the entire village. I knew Amanda and her group of gossiping girls had been drooling over him ever since we were children, but Joseph chose me; shy, quiet hearted, Mary, to be his wife. I would be Joseph the Carpenter's wife, perhaps if it was God's will, the mother of his children. My smile broadened.

"Mary! Would you come over here? Your father has been speaking to someone and he wants to see you! Oh, hurry up," she said coaxing me away from my needle and thread. I needed no coaxing through, trust me.

"There you are Mary," my father said smiling even more broadly than I was. I bowed my head to Joseph. "Joseph has asked for your hand," he began. I looked up to meet Joseph's gorgeous deep brown eyes. "And I… in my infinite wisdom… have consented for you two to be married!"

"If it's alright with you, Mary," the love of my life said.

"Of course," I whispered. He took my hand and kissed it. I stood aside as the bride price was discussed and then Joseph turned to me again.

"Then, if it pleases you Mary, would you come to eat lunch with me tomorrow?"

I looked up at my father, my eyes pleading. "It is no business of mine whether you eat with your betrothed or not," he said.

"Thank you, father," I said.

"Thank you, sir. You truly have made me the happiest man that has ever lived on the earth. I'll take good care of her," Joseph said. My heart beat widely as he kissed my forehead and left.

I felt hot and light-headed as the whole household erupted once he had stepped out of the door. My younger sister, Ashley was happy because now that I was spoken for, it would be her turn. "For goodness sake, Mary, you took long enough to secure yourself a husband," she said.

"Well, at least she is marrying the most handsome man in the entire village. You will be lucky if you end up marrying Harel the butcher!" Leah said.

"At least I'm eligible to be married," she retorted.

"Girls," my father warned. "No more bickering."

"Yes, Father," they said in unison.

"This is a time for Mary," my mother added kindly. "Now, you must hurry and set a date for the wedding! I must have time to make all the necessary arrangements. Oh, dear. I must send word to all our relatives… there's your older sisters and their husbands, your aunts and uncles, cousins…"

"We can arrange for the invitations to be sent out, mother," I said.

"Oh, Mary, you leave it all up to me," she said proudly. She always got like this when one of us got married. By now four of my sisters were married as well as three of my brothers. There was only Ashley, Leah and Alon left.

I never did understand how my father could tolerate my mother. She was always taking control. But I suppose it is a woman's duty to take control of what she can; men are in control of everything except the kitchen. So when my mother had the chance, she took over her daughters. ButI wouldn't allow my mind to dwell on my mothers controlling tendencies. My mind was on tomorrow, and my picnic with Joseph.


	2. Chapter 2

It appears that news gets around fast in this village because before the mid-day meal, one of my older sisters, Tamara, was at our home to congratulate me.

"Look at you, Mary, you glowing!" she said taking me in a warm embrace.

"Aunt Mary!"

"Kyla!" I said taking my little niece up into my arms.

"She's been whining to see you ever since our last visit," Tamara explained.

"Of course she has! We had much too much fun last time," I said giving Kyla a kiss.

"But let's put her to sleep for now, I must speak with you about your new husband!" She said excitedly. So we laid Kyla down for a nap and went for a walk in the gardens.

"Yes, now that I think about it, I believe I have seen him around town. He's that young handsome carpenter, Jacob's son, isn't he?"

"Yes," I said and blushed furiously.

"You're in love, I can tell. I'm so happy for you Mary," she said taking my hand.

"Were you in love with Matthias when you married?" I asked.

"No, not the day we were married, but I grew to love him very much. Look at us now; four sons, two daughters and were still young."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"What's it like… you know…" I asked as casually as I could but failed miserably.

"Why Mary! All this time I thought you were the more innocent girl I've ever met," she said teasing.

"Well?"

"You know, I asked the exact same thing to our sister Tirzah, when I was betrothed, and do you know what she told me?"

"No," I replied.

"You'll find out when you find out." She hugged me, laughing.

"Well, it can't be horrible since you already have six children…" I said quietly.

"No, no it can't."

We spent the rest of the morning preparing for my mid-day meal with Joseph. Mother helped me pack some water, some fresh bread and dried fruits for after the meal. Joseph said he would bring the rest. I bathed and dressed and was ready when a knock at the door made everyone run to answer it.

"I'll get it!" my father said in an authoritative voice. All he women stepped aside, just enough to give father his space, but enough to be able to see if it was Joseph at the door.

"Joseph, come in! Come in!" he said with a booming laughter.

As he stepped in I felt my face being to go red again. Would I ever get a hold of my emotions, especially in front of him?

"You're blushing, Mary! I wonder what _you're_ thinking about," Ashley whispered in my ear, but loud enough so everyone could hear.

"Ashley," I said swatting her away from me. Joseph turned in my direction and smiled. That smile only made me blush even more!

"I'll see you later Tamara," I said and left with Joseph. As we walked through the town, I couldn't help noticing everyone's approving smiles and nods. "I wish they would stop looking at us," I said.

"It's because you're so beautiful," he said. "They can't help it."

"Thank you." Sometimes I didn't understand him. If I took an honest non-biased opinion of myself, I knew I wasn't beautiful. It wasn't that I was ugly, or that I had a poor impression of myself, it was just that I knew what beauty was, and I didn't have it. In fact, I was quite plain; medium length brown hair, brown eyes, not particularly tall or slender or stout. I was just… Mary, Heli's daughter.

Joseph and I left the village and started walking away from the main road. "So where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see," Joseph said taking my hand. "I spent all day looking for the perfect spot. You'll love it."

In a few seconds we entered into a beautiful clearing. It was as if the God's thumb had cleared this place just for us. His imprint had left flowers everywhere and a fragrance I can only describe as heavenly. It was as if the very air inside this clearing in the woods made time stand still.

"It's wonderful," I whispered. I could tell he was pleased.

He took out a blanket for us to have our lunch on, gave thanks to the Lord and started our meal. I loved spending time with him. He was one of the very few people who truly understood me. He knew that when I was silent, it wasn't because I didn't have anything to say, it was because there were no words to describe how I felt.

"Do you know what I like about you, Mary?"

"What?" I asked, taking a sip of my water.

"You're heart. You're so full of love, for Jehovah, for His people, His creation."

"Thank you…" I said. "I'm glad I'm marrying you. Tell me again, what our life is going to be like." I lay down on the blanket and closed my eyes, trying to imagine what he was about to tell me.

"Well, for a year I won't work. We'll be together, building our home and getting ready for al the children we'll have."

"How many?" I asked.

"Oh, many children," he replied. "You can plant all the gardens you want on our property. We'll have a donkey or two, along with a few goats. It'll be a simple life…"

"Good. That's all I want," I said. "A simple life, with you."

The days that followed, were indeed simple. I helped with my chores at home, went for walks with Joseph, talked with him, laughed with him… It was strange. Since we were betrothed, we were considered married. I was Mary, Joseph the carpenter's wife. The only thing was that our marriage wasn't consummated.

Soon, we had set a date. In exactly eleven months, we would finally truly be husband and wife. Until that one fateful day, my life was planned, down to the very food I would eat the next day, and I liked it. I liked the comfortable consistency that my life was made up of. Of course, meeting Joseph and perhaps even falling in love, was out of my routine. But nothing, nothing in my wildest dreams or deepest secrets of my heart could have warned me about what was about to happen to me. No person or thing could have prepared shy, quiet-hearted me, for the journey of a lifetime and my role in history.


	3. Chapter 3

"But they _are_ just rumours aren't they Amanda?" I overheard Ashley say one day.

"Well, I don't know…" Amanda replied. "But what I do know is that'll it will be a huge inconvenience for all of us. Well, I could only steal away from home for a minute, but I had to tell you. I'll see you later, then?"

"Of course. Don't forget were going to the market later on!" Ashley said waving at Amanda as she left.

"What's Amanda gossiping about now?" I asked Ashley as soon as Amanda left.

"She's not gossiping, it's the truth," Ashley said. "Apparently… Caesar is going to issue a census of the entire Roman world!"

I laughed. "The entire Roman world? He wouldn't do that."

"Well, I wouldn't be so sure, Mary. You never know with these Romans…"

I smiled at her. "There's nothing wrong with most Romans. Did you hear that Leah? Ashley thinks Caesar is going to issue a census and send us all back to where we came from to register."

"Is he really?" she asked, coming into the room.

"Of course not!" Alon said. He was always trying to be older and more mature than his eleven years of age.

"There will be, I'm telling you!" Ashley exclaimed.

"Now, now Ashley. Don't get overexcited. We'll see in due time what happens," my mother said. "Alon, your father needs you in the fields. You were supposed to get a drink of water then go back. Girls, Ashley and I are getting some things at the market with Amanda. Leah and Mary, are you coming?"

"I will," Leah said quickly. It wasn't that she liked shopping so much as she liked watching the men with Ashley.

"I think I'll stay here and prepare a meal for the men when they get in from the fields," I said.

"How thoughtful of you, Mary! We were going to be back by then, but since you'll be here, I think we'll stay a little longer. Thank you," my mother said and with that they were all out the door.

I decided to wait a few minutes and catch up on some more mending before starting to prepare them some food. But as soon as I entered my room, I felt very odd. Then, to my utter surprise my room burst with light. For a brief second I thought something had caught fire, but it wasn't hot and there was no smell of smoke. I was about to run out but a voice stopped me.

"Do not be afraid, Mary." It was no one that I recognised and when I turned around I was even more surprised. A _being_, dare I say, an _angel _was standing next to my bed. It was from him that the bright light had come from. "You have found favour with God," he continued. "You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you will give him the name Jesus."

"God with us?" I whispered. (That's what the name Jesus means)

The angel smiled. "Yes. He will great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord will give him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

For a moment, I was speechless. "But… How can this be, since I am… still a virgin?"

"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God."

I found that I was surprisingly calm and answered truthfully, "I am the Lord's servant." I knew that what I was about to say next would be the final word. There would be no going back, and I decided to take the plunge. "May it be…as you have said." As the words exited from my lips, light filled my room. It filled my inner being, surrounding me from all sides. For a split second, time stood still. Then…nothing. I stood still; waiting. I wasn't sure for what, but I just kept the same position.

After a few moments, I allowed myself to turn my head to see if anything had changed, but it hadn't. I looked at my hands and down to my stomach. I rushed to a mirror and saw that, I was still Mary. I really, hadn't changed outwardly. A seed of doubt entered my mind questioning of what had happened had really happened, but it was quickly squashed. I knew, deep inside, that I was carrying Someone who would one day be a great ruler.

I smiled and touched my abdomen. Then I realised something. No one would believe me! If one would think about it logically, it didn't make sense. I could just imagine my mothers face when I told her an angel had visited me and God had impregnated me. They would think that I was just making that story up! They would think horrible things about me and about Joseph…

Joseph. What would he think? Would he believe me? Or… would he think I had disgraced him by sleeping with another man? Being with your betrothed before the appointed time was bad enough, but… sleeping with another? That was far worse than anything else I could do to him. I felt weak on my feet, so I sat down. I didn't move until the men came in demanding supper.


End file.
